174 Chapter 173
(A/N: This chapter is brought to you by the ever-awesome Krisnan.)
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With Melissa fitting the Sky Regalia with inverse sound dampeners and liquid helium reserves to assist with the heat bleed-off, Izuku could now use them on the road and within the city, albeit with limitations. He had to avoid glass and highly resonant surfaces as the former could burst while the latter could induce vibration syndrome in his legs and feet, interfering with blood flow and damaging his nerves.
Regardless of their limitations, Izuku greatly enjoyed moving through the city and skating through the air at high speeds with the aid of Black Whip. His in-ear receiver picked up several calls made to local Agencies and the police regarding his 'reckless' actions, but since he was in their database and carried a transponder identifying him as a licensed Hero, they readily explained he wasn't some random person or villain on the run, even if his appearance and costume were less than inspiring.
Though he had inverted the color of his costume to have more green than black, Izuku's Black Whip-formed cowl, shadowy 'wings,' and the 'bladed' aesthetic of the Sky Regalia made him look more like a vicious demon on the prowl than a proper Hero. Fortunately, it would only take a few public feats of heroism to flip that sentiment on its head, causing most people to go from thinking he looked demonic to 'badass.'
Receiving reports of an armed robbery in progress, Izuku made his way to a nearby shopping center adjacent to a metro station. Three figures in hockey masks were robbing a jewelry store, and one of them, a thin man with the ability to turn his fingers into sharp blades, had taken a hostage as four policemen and women attempted to talk them down with a local Pro, Rank 437, Owlman, and his Sidekick, Tanuki Girl, waiting to leap into action.
Since there were all kinds of rules and regulations preventing outsiders from wantonly interfering in an ongoing incident, Izuku surprised the Hero and Sidekick duo by touching down, or, more accurately, hovering next to where they were perched on a roof, asking, "Do you mind if I take care of this one...?" in a casual tone.
Blinking in surprise, Owlman, a Hero possessing the features of a horned owl, asked, "And you are...?"
Removing the magnetic plate from his chest, Izuku turned it around to reveal his Provisional Hero License as he explained, "I'm Limit-Breaker Hero: Paragon, the protege of All Might. If you trust me, I can wrap this incident up in the blink of an eye."
Recognizing Izuku, the mascot-like Tanuki Girl chimed, "He's the kid that took first place among the first years at UA's Sports Festival. I also heard he tested out of all his classes and has been traveling around the world to help clean up outbreaks and stuff with All Might."
"Hoo-hoo? Is that so?" asked Owlman, looking between his starry-eyed Sidekick and Izuku before giving a curt nod and saying, "If you say you can resolve this incident, I'll trust you. Just please, be careful. Lives are on the line here."
Making a two-fingered salute, Izuku replied, "Back in a flash," as bands of green and black electricity flickered across his body. As it did, the world from Izuku's point of view became noticeably darker as the air around him appeared to liquefy, almost like he was moving through clear epoxy as he began perceiving the world in slow motion.
'I will never get tired of this feeling...' thought Izuku, briefly closing his eyes as his Strength, Agility, and Dexterity increased to more than ten thousand while his Vitality shot up to 200,000. The latter caused him to feel like a chemical cocktail of adrenaline, morphine, and dopamine had been pumped into him simultaneously, but since he could only sustain the state for so long, Izuku drew his arms in before tucking in his legs with a slight delay, causing him to invert as if he were in zero gravity. Then, with the intake valves of his Sky Regalia closed, he kicked outward against the empty air, the movement causing the liquefied air to ripple, shimmer, and momentarily ignite as he was accelerated toward the ground at what felt like a slow and controlled speed but was faster than most could perceive with the naked eye.
Flipping over in slow motion before he could hit the ground, the turbines in Izuku's Sky Regalia began to whir with greater intensity as his wheels touched the ground, compressing the air cushion within to increase their internal pressure and convert it to energy. Then, while taking care that his movements didn't create too many ripples, using his arms, hands, and even the tips of his fingers to make small adjustments to his trajectory, he skated into the interior of the jewelry store, 'gently' pinching the nerves at the base of the robbers' necks to disrupt the signal to their brains before carefully separating the hostage from the robber with scalpel-like fingers. He had to be extremely careful, similar to cradling the head of a newborn, but thanks to Toshinori's guidance and the girls permitting him to practice on them, Izuku managed to secure the hostage without incident. Then, as if someone had flipped the switch of several industrial fans, a powerful burst of air filled the interior of the jewelry shop as time resumed its usual march.
Ignoring the collapsed robbers, Izuku, holding the middle-aged MILF of a hostage in a customary princess carry, adopted his best smile and asked, "Are you okay, Miss?"
Regaining her senses, the dark-haired woman, possessing lens-like eyes, hurriedly stammered, "I-I'm fine. Can...can you let me down, p-p-please?"
"Of course," replied Izuku, setting the woman down before turning his attention to the robbers and extending his right hand, producing three lightning-like tendrils of Black Whip to draw them toward him in a group. Then, after a curt nod to the hostage, who he was fairly certain was an accomplice to the group, he turned his back and tried to carry the group outside.
Matching Izuku's expectations, the woman pulled out a weapon similar to an ice pick when he turned his back to her. He could have easily thwarted the attempt, but since Owlman swooped in silently and swiftly, unlike his shout of "Behind you, Paragon-dono...!" Izuku gave the fairly low-ranking Hero a bit of face by permitting him to capture the final robber...
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'It's a good thing I set out super early,' Izuku thought, checking his watch before staring up at the massive, luxurious skyscraper that served as the headquarters of the Endeavor Agency. The front entrance was decorated with a stylized flaming E, but while it screamed excessive, Izuku couldn't criticize Endeavor too much since Might Tower, built to support Toshinori, was even grander with more than a hundred floors and a massive, planet-like sculpture bearing dual rings on top.
Interrupting Izuku's thoughts of constructing his own tower, albeit with most of the floors being underground, similar to the Trophaeum Tower of Air Gear, a buxom woman with flaming, yellow-green hair emerged from the front entrance of the Endeavor Agency, hand raised as she exclaimed, "Yo! You made it! And twenty minutes early, no less~!"
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Name: [Moe Kamiji]
Title: Copper Flame Demon(Vitality+100)
Quirk: Blazing Hair
Bond Level: 71
Current Level: 57
Effective Level: 128
[Attributes]
Strength: 48
Agility: 58
Vitality: 881
Intelligence: 104
Dexterity: 78
Luck: 119
Free Attributes: 260
[Perks]
[Soulfire Imbue]
[Skills]
[Flame Sword], [Flame Whip], [Blast Burn]
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"I see you've traveled out of the country recently..." Izuku remarked, causing Moe, aka Burnin, to laugh boisterously. Her body was garbed in a light-grey double-breasted mini dress with orange-and-black lining and slits on both sides of her skirt, much like a sexy nurse. The silver buttons adorning her costume resembled the heads of screws, giving her a kind of Frankstein-esque vibe, while her collar, belt, and wrist guard were all soot black with orange lines running through them. A similarly black eye mask adorned the upper half of her face, but the most prominent feature of her outfit was the temperature gauge on the front of her belt and her black, knee-high socks that were fashioned to resemble a garter belt flowing into her skirt on one end and disappearing into black, green-soled boots on the other.
Since it wasn't a secret or something to be ashamed of, Moe revealed, "Yeah. The Bossman wanted to see what all the fuss was about, so he took half of us on a day trip to Jeju Island. On that note, what Level are you? Mine's 57, but you clearly already knew that."
Causing Moe's distinctly angular eyes to turn nearly as round as saucers, Izuku casually revealed, "My base Level is only 90, but my Effective Level is 2,365," before smiling in amusement.
"Holy toledo...!" exclaimed Moe, her flame-like hair flaring a bit as she recoiled in an over-the-top manner and added, "I knew you were a hot shot, but 2,365!? You've gotta be usin' hacks or something!"
Shaking his head, Izuku raised and squeezed his right hand into a fist as he explained, "It's because my Quirk functions like a Reinforcement type. But by maintaining a 1:10 ratio between my physical parameters and my Vitality, I can maintain my current state almost indefinitely."
"Yeah, yeah, you don't need to convince me. I'm already sold," said Moe, gesturing to the entrance of the Endeavor Agency with her thumb as she added, "Let's take you up to meet with the Bossman. Then, once you get back from patrolling or whatever else you run off to do, the two of us can work on improving our Bond Level."
"You're pretty nonchalant about all this," Izuku remarked, causing Moe to shrug and reason, "It is what it is. We're all in need of more power, and by my estimations, I should have at least 260 Free Attribute Points waiting to be allocated. That's twenty-six free Levels, and with those Perks you can provide, I'll have a much easier time dealing with any villains or breaches that appear."
"Pragmatic and sensible," said Izuku, nodding in approval. He would have added Moe to his Party on the spot if she had the necessary Bond Level, but he wasn't exactly disappointed by the notion they would have to work on it. Moe wasn't a conventional beauty with her fiery hair, eyes, and the general structure of her face, but her body was outstanding, as one would expect of a Pro in her mid to late twenties...
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Upon riding the elevator to the top floor of the Endeavor Agency, Izuku found himself at the entrance of a luxurious room as spacious as a school gymnasium. Marble tiles a meter long covered the floor, and there was a massive, extremely intricate carpet at the center of the room, upon which was a large leather sofa and two smaller but equally lavish leather chairs, separated by a mahogany coffee table. Above that was an expensive chandelier more than 3m wide, while, a bit further down, situated at the edge of the carpet, was a long, low-lying mahogany desk, the type that required the person using it to kneel rather than sit. A crystal lamp sat on the desk, but Izuku's eyes were drawn to the man standing behind it with his hands behind his back, facing away from the elevator as he stared at a painting depicting a city aflame.
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Name: [Enji Todoroki]
Title: Raging Inferno[Vitality+100]
Quirk: Hellflame
Bond Level: 83
Current Level: 111
Effective Level: 638
[Attributes]
Strength: 345
Agility: 186
Vitality: 5,283
Intelligence: 98
Dexterity: 281
Luck: 179
Free Attributes: 515
[Perks]
[Second Wind], [Vitality Ignition]
[Skills]
[Flaming Fist], [Flaming Finger], [Flame Trap], [Great Eruption]
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'How the fuck did he gain eight Levels...?' Izuku wondered, making his way across the nearly hundred-meter-long room as Enji pretended to be unaware of his presence. The man's 83 Bond Level was similarly unusual, but with his 158 base Intelligence, Izuku had a pretty good idea why Enji had developed an unexpected fondness for him. After all, the last time he saw Todoroki(Shoto), the latter was absent the burn mark covering his left eye, courtesy of Eri...
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(A/N: Eri the MVP...)
